RUG HOOKING BLOG

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I'm a mother of four grandmother of seven and great grandmother of three. I live with my husband in the house that we built with the help of my brothers and will have been married for 57 years this February.

Monday, July 15, 2013

WHAT'S IN MY CAMERA THIS WEEK

Too many photos in my camera this week to show them all but this blog is my way of documenting what's happening so I'll just do my best. That's what happens when I only blog once in a while. I don't know where to begin.


I sneaked up on three of my grandkids while they were admiring a big baby eagle flying out of sight while they were weeding. The baby eagle is full grown and was too quick for me to get a shot .

Early Friday morning, around 8:00 am  three of my grandkids were dropped off at my place to weed their mom's garden behind my hedge and one stayed home to clean the kitchen counter and after he finished his work, he biked  from up town to our place for lunch. They are such good kids.



I made a huge pot of spaghetti as we were 7 for lunch. Here they are enjoying their ice cream desert.
The men went for a little nap in the lazy-boy chairs  before returning to work and are not in this photo.

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PLEASE READ ON ABOUT THIS SPECIAL WEED. You may have encountered some before and didn't know what they were good for.  It's a medicinal plant that can save you from a lot of suffering. It's called Jewelweed.
If you ever come into contact with Poison Ivy, Poison Oak, or Poison Sumac, you cut a piece of the stem and split it open and rub the sap on the area that came in contact with the poison plant and the Jewelweed sap neutralizes the effect of the poison.

I was cutting small branches by the edge of the riverbank and I must have come into contact with some offensive leaves below my throat as I was wearing a V-neck shirt. I developed an itchy rash and I was itchy for three days.  I remembered the Jewelweed and I rub some on the itch and it soothed the skin and the itch and redness was gone just like that.


They grow in the shade and damp places. They have a yellow-orange little flower when in bloom and I just picked this one in my shade garden. They spread quickly by seed. The plants are just starting to come to blossom now so the seedpod has not formed yet but you can google it to see what it looks like. Kids love to surprise their friends my making them touch the mature seedpod which explode on contact.


This is what the little flower looks like. There are two types of Jewelweeds but the one with orange flowers are the one that counteract the poison.


They are really easy to pull because they have very shallow roots. They do look flimsy and watery when small but the mature stems are fibrous.



This is a piece of the stem that I broke off and split open. I hope that you enjoyed this little tutorial on Jewelweed.


Meanwhile in my gardens, my pink Grootendorst rose bush is blooming  in this heat.


and  Jackmanii clematis is starting to bloom and has tons of buds yet to open.

Last evening after supper I tackled my very dirty deck with my new pressure washer and it was quite a job as I had to remove a year or maybe two 's worth of mildew accumulation. I had quite a job of cleaning every bars on the rails. I had to stretch over the edge with the spray gun with water flying everywhere. It needs painting but that's another job for another day. I would have to bleach the wood and rinse it well before painting to kill the mildew. (too busy and too wet to take pictures)

My long daylilly bed has surprised me with blooms. I never thought that any would bloom this year because I planted them just before the heavy frost and the winter came early.  Some died because of the freeze and thaws this past winter. I'll have some pictures another time.

Stay cool, safe  and hydrated. Thanks for your visit and  I do appreciate your comments.

JB

21 comments:

  1. You have beautiful plants. I'm envious.
    R

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  2. just love the rose bush and the clematis! wowsa! glad you know about jewelweed and it has helped you! your grands are adorable. loved the shot of 3 little heads all watching the eagle.

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  3. p.s. such gorgeous hair! i used to wear my hair long like that until i was about 13.

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  4. What a great job for a hot day...power washing the deck! I bet that felt good! Thanks for the reminder about jewel weed. I had heard that before, but have never tried it, and forgot about it!

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  5. Your grand kids are so cute nd smart to weed for their Mom....so glad to know about jewel weed. I need to plant some in the mountains because we have poison Ivey up there.....

    All of your flowers are beautiful. Obviously you have a green thumb to add to your talents......

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  6. I liked the picture of the girls with their long hair. I have a picture of me like that, with hair long enough to sit on! As I have gotten older my hair has gotten very short.
    I always called the jewel weed the water weed. With all of our rain it is everywhere right now!
    Beautiful flowers! Wished my clematis would bloom like yours.

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    1. Just for the record, one of those "girls" is a guy (he's the one most distant from the photographer in the picture where they are looking at the eagle). He just has long hair.

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  7. Oh, thank you. I love your pictures & posts. I always feel so privileged to see them. Hugs.

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  8. oh, wow... just to see an Eagle would be outstanding but to see a BABY Eagle? oh, how cool. Look at those hungry baby grandbabies... HAHaaaa... love it. What a healthy looking crew.

    Jewelweed... I never. Wonder if there's such around here. Need to google.

    Beautiful photography, m'dear! love Clematis and roses and Grootendorst rose bush? that's quite a name

    Gonna be hot and sultry around heah ... had a cold spell for a spell ... but we all knew this wasnt going to last in the South? sure was nice while it lasted though...

    Spaghetti and ice cream ... what else is there...

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  9. Good info on the jewelweed. I will have to look around for it.

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  10. I'm sure we have that weed in the woods. Thanks for the lesson! I learned something new! I try to learn something new every day. Your grandkids are the real jewels in your beautiful garden of life. Stay cool..we're cooking in the heat and humidity this week!

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  11. I have never heard of Jewelweed. It sounds like it was perfect for your poison ivy.

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  12. I have some of that weed I just didn't what it was. you do have good grandkids to help out at home and in the garden. your rose looks beautiful.
    we are staying cool and hydrated and trying not to complain.
    Cathy

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  13. Your grandkids are so sweet to come and weed their mom's garden. I would love to see mine once a week. lol
    I did enjoy reading about this weed but I don't think I have seen it around the North Forty.
    Glad it gave you some relief from your itch.
    It has been so hot and dry here I have not mowed in a few weeks but the last two days we finally got rain so I may be out again mowing and I will keep my eyes open to see if I spot this weed.
    I need to do the same thing to my porch but the power washer is so heavy I can't move it from the barn. Instead I will probably just spray it down with the gallon of commercial bleech I have found that kills everything. Probably will take off my paint too but it's time for a new paint job.
    I am still having computer issues so I am at the library trying to catch up with a few friends.
    Love ya
    Maggie

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    1. Ha! I agree with Julia that the grandkids really are nice kids, but they did not sweetly go to weed their mom's (and father's) garden out of some desire to help out. Those same awful parents made them do it. The evil mom was teaching a workshop all week and the draconian father was running a robotics camp, and the garden needed weeding. Kids were dragged from bed at 7:00 a.m. - unheard of in summer - and taken by the slave-driving father to the farm and told to weed and water the garden, because it needed to be done before we left for a weekend at the cottage. They weren't left with a lot of choice in the matter. They love to eat the produce from the garden, so they have to pitch in when the parents just don't have the time.

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    2. Tired Adult, I want you to know that they never complained even once even with all the mosquitoes in the back of the hedge and they were cheerful and finished their weeding without complaining. They never even mentioned that they were dragged out of bed that early and forced into slave labor for a weekend at the cottage. Mira was very sleepy from insomnia and laid on the sofa to rest after lunch.
      I was happy to have them for lunch as they are very well behaved kids and polite.

      Mamoo

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  14. Your granddaughters have gorgeous hair. They all are nice looking kids. I know you must be very proud of them. I don't know that I have ever seen a Jewelweed. I will certainly be looking for them now though that you have posted about them. Thanks for the information. Your flowers are so beautiful. Hugs

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  15. Love the picture of your granddaughters looking at the eagle - such long hair! You never hardly see hair that long anymore. I have never heard of Jewelweeds before. interesting!!

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  16. such beautiful grands....i'm so happy for you:)
    jewelweed; that is a jewel of a tip
    (writing it down to remember and find)
    thanks for all the opening my eyes you do.
    I really enjoy stopping by here to visit,
    Jennifer

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  17. Your jewelweed doesn't grow in the uk but I am sure it is sold here as a houseplant, I will look out for it in future - what a treasure. your family photos are lovely, I like seeing the way you live, a good self sufficient lifestyle in touch with nature. Hope your shoulder is healing - I am sending healing thoughts and prayers for it. Betty

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  18. Julia-- Ive seen that little weed before!!!! Thanks for the info----

    Your grandbabies are precious. Being a grandparent is the best!!

    Thank you for all the love and support you send my way:)

    Xoxo
    Vicki

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